In Another Life
by FalseFacts
Summary: Unable to know the truth, Riza must accept her new identity but how can she when every night she dreams of a past that was erased and every day Roy seeks to make her remember. Royai
1. I

**AN: This story is based on a dream I had last night so I apologize in advance for an OOCness. This takes place after Brotherhood/ the manga. Thank you and enjoy!**

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><p>It was late at night in Central and Colonel Riza Hawkeye was in this midst of walking home with her dog, Black Hayate. The Shiba Inu walked on ahead of his master, tugging ever so slightly on his leash. The moon was high above the city; it was full and glowing far more intensely then the street lights. It was quiet and the streets appeared to be devoid of any life. Riza was tired and while she had wished to get home early that night, when working for the future Fuhrer of Amestris, it was a task to that was easier said then done.<p>

Hayate was used to having to wait for his walk so being up at this late hour didn't bother him any. He was just grateful for the company.

As they crossed the street, Black Hayate began to bark in his desperate attempt to warn Riza of the impending danger. Riza had no more then looked to her side when blinding headlights came rushing towards her at full speed; she was unable to dodge it.

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><p>"Now, sweetie when mommy wakes up, don't be so rough. Remember she was hurt."<p>

Riza could hear the unknown voice of a man. It was gentle and nurturing and she knew that he was talking to a child. She hoped that the child's mother was alright.

'_Wait, where am I?' _

All she could feel was a slight throbbing sensation that would appear and disappear with a rapid beat in her head.

All she could see was blackness.

'_Am I dreaming? Is it possible to feel pain in a dream?'_

Riza squeezed her hand into a fist, clenching and clenching it until she was sure she still held control over her body. When she felt that she was ready she opened her eyes. She was in a white room, lying down in a bed. She looked down at her right arm; she was hooked up to a monitor.

'_Where am I?'_

"Mommy! You're awake!"

A young girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes rushed up to Riza's bed side. She was accompanied by a man, who was in his mid to late thirties. He was tall enough where he would easily tower over Riza, even if she were standing. He had sandy colored hair and blue eyes that were the same shade as the girl's.

'_Mommy? Did she just call me, mommy?' _

Riza looked up at them; they were all eagerly waiting for her to say something, only she wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't a mother…..was she? Who was she? More importantly, who were they?

Riza directed her question to the man, though it was meant for both of them.

"Who are you?"

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><p>That same morning General Roy Mustang entered his office in Central Headquarters and was greeted with the shock of his life...<p>

His desk was clear of any paperwork and in it's absence sat the fully grown Black Hayate, waiting patiently to be patted on the head.

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><p><strong>EN: I swear the next chapter will be much longer and undoubtedly better written; I just had to get started today, despite my sickness, so that way I won't forget about what happened in the dream. <strong>

**Please leave a review so that way I know someone is interested in reading the rest of this ^_^**


	2. II

**AN: ****I'd like to thank Bluehxxx, Thieving Alchemist,** **Skyethestarlitangel YesMyLord666, and PokemonFreak90 for the reviews. **

** I do hope though, that my story isn't that predicable. Remember it came from my dreams and in dreams things are always a bit strange. Hence, this is why I once again apologize for any OOCness.**

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><p>Roy blinked in utter confusion. He walked slowly over to his desk as he cautiously evaluated the situation. He unbuttoned his coat and placed it on the back of his chair. His eyes scanned over to where the coffee machine was; it wasn't turned on. His men were all sitting at their desks but none of them had received any paperwork either. Havoc and Breda were lazily tossing a paper air place back and forth. Hayate, whined solemnly as he anxiously waited to be acknowledged. It was then that Roy finally noticed that the dog still had his leash on.<p>

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

His team turned their attention to their flustered General but they did not say a word. They left it up to the timid Fuery to untangle the strangeness of the situation. Fuery rose and approached Roy as he asked "What's wrong, sir?"

"_What's wrong_, Fuery? I'll tell you what's wrong! There's no paperwork on my desk! Where's the paperwork?"

Fuery answered warily "You mean you actually want to do paperwork, sir?"

"That isn't the point!"

Roy turned his attention back on Hayate, he pointed to the floor "Down boy." The dog obediently followed his order.

Havoc then chimed in "About the paper work, General. We were going to have Fuery go and get it but he convinced us that it wouldn't be fair for him to have to carry all of those papers by himself." He idly tossed the paper air plane back at Breda, who yawned slightly as he caught it; they were all relight on the coffee being made. "So then Breda and I challenged him to a game of 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' but as it turns out he's really skilled at it and he kept beating us. We went through about 15 or 16 games before calling it quits because if Fuery isn't getting the paperwork, I'm definitely not."

"Am I honestly the only one who's concerned? There's no paperwork, the coffee machine isn't even on, and Hayate is in the office with his leash still on! Something has obviously happened to Hawkeye!"

Roy picked up the phone receiver as he hurriedly began to dial out; his heart racing.

"Sir, about Colonel Hawkeye…." Fuery hesitantly began "She called in sick this morning."

Mustang lowered the receiver from his ear but still held onto it tightly; he knew something was wrong. "She said not to worry, she just isn't feeling well, sir. I can get the paperwork."

Roy shook his head and he spoke in a grave tone "How long have you known, the Colonel?"

Fuery began to count out the years on his fingers.

"…you can stop. The point is you should know her by now. I remember a few years back she came into work with a 102 degree temperature and she still managed to finish all of my paperwork for me just so I could make it to an important meeting, that meeting by the way helped me get promoted to Lt. Colonel. Then on the Promised Day, even after her throat had been slashed she still led me into battle because I couldn't see. Trust me when I say she wouldn't miss work because of some illness."

He placed the phone back to his ear and he stood anxiously while the phone rang.

'_Please pick up.'_

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><p>After Riza had questioned the identities of the people who claimed to know her, the girl had started crying and the man called in the doctor to evaluate Riza's condition.<p>

His name was Dr. Braun. He was a lean man, though well aged and his hair had already turned completely white. When he entered the room he brought with him his nurse, Audrey. She was a pretty thing, around 23 or so with short brown hair, and hazel eyes. He first informed her of what had happened. He told her that she had been injured in a hit and run and then for the first time, she heard her name.

"Margot Canter."

She was 28 years old and happily married to William Canter and they had a daughter named Hannah, who had just turned six last week. It seemed bizarre to Riza to hear her life being read off to her from a chart. It was all so cookie cut and simplistic. Was that really her life? If it was, she was then guilty of making her only child cry because she had forgotten her.

Dr. Braun then conducted some coordination tests and he assured her that no permanent damage had been done to her brain.

"Dr. Braun, how long will it be until I get my memories back?"

The doctor thought carefully "Uhhh….It's difficult to say. As I've said no permanent damage has been done to your brain. You have what's known as Retrograde Amnesia. Now from what you've told me, you have no memories from before the accident?"

Riza or as she was now called, Margot, nodded

"It may take weeks or possibly months but I'm sure with time and plenty of rest you will begin to slowly remember."

"I hope so." She looked over to Hannah. She was sitting beside her father, refusing to make eye contact with Riza.

'_I'm a terrible mother'_

"Mr. Canter, if you could please follow me there are some forms you need to fill out."

He nodded briefly and then turned to Riza "Hang in there, sweetie." He smiled lovingly at her and she faked that same sweetness, all the while feeling completely lost. Hannah walked out of the room with her father and dared not say a word to Riza.

Audrey, the nurse, stayed behind. She closed the door to Riza's hospital room, once she was sure that no one was watching.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Canter. I know you've been through a lot lately and I know you can't remember anything but…."

"What is it?"

"When we brought you in here and we changed you into your hospital gown, I couldn't help but notice the tattoo on your back. "she stated awkwardly

Riza's eyes widened slightly "Tattoo? I have a tattoo?" The words felt foreign to her. She tried to imagine what sort of tattoo she would get but she still couldn't picture it. This cookie cutter life of hers had suddenly gotten a lot more complex.

"Not to say that it isn't a nice tattoo. Lot's of people have them, it's just that….on top of the tattoo I noticed several rather large burn marks." Audrey began to twiddle her fingers nervously "I know Dr. Braun said it was Retrograde Amnesia but it may also be Dissociative Amnesia, which is caused when someone experiences a traumatic event. Sometimes there are things that people don't want to remember."

Riza could tell that she was genuinely concerned and that she feared the worst.

"It's funny that you mentioned burn marks because there is one thing I can remember; fire, it consumed everything."

This did not ease the girls concern, in fact it worsened it.

"If you remember anything else or if you just want to talk, I'm right down the hall, ok?"

"Thank you."

The girl nodded and left the room. Riza lifted up her left hand and examined the gold wedding band. This was her life it seemed and yet nothing felt familiar.

'_What would I want to forget so badly?'_


	3. III

**AN: I've come to the realization that my summary for this story really doesn't do it justice nor convey the true plotline. However, I have no idea what I could put for the summary without spoiling everything. The less you know about what will happen, the better. I hope you are enjoying this and I also hope that no one has been too OOC.**

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><p>After receiving no answer from Riza, Roy and his men (including Hayate) marched out of the office. Roy walked ahead of them, with Fuery holding Hayate's leash and Breda trailing far behind Havoc. Even after all these years Breda still didn't trust any dog.<p>

"When the Colonel called in, how did she sound?"

Fuery and Hayate wriggled their way through the crowded streets of Central

"Well she had a sore throat so her voice was raspy."

Fuery could see the gears in Roy's head cranking away. Breda was slowly catching up to the others "Sir, where are we going again?"

"I've already told you. We're going to Hawkeye's apartment."

The group rounded the corner where Hawkeye's building was and they entered. They walked up several flights of stairs behind their determined General. They then walked down a rather large hallway until they reached Hawkeye's door. Hayate began to bark and scratch at the wooden frame.

"How are we going to get in?" asked Breda

Mustang pulled out a key from his coat pocket and flashed it for all to see.

"General, why do you have a key to Hawkeye's apartment?" It was hard to miss what Havoc was insinuating. "I just do…"

The truth of the matter was, Mustang had a copy of Riza's key and she had a copy of his. This was done for two reasons.

1) After Hayate had gone out in the world and met a white Shiba Inu, together they had three puppies but she had no home. Roy had adopted the white dog and much to Riza's dismay he had named her White Bacardi. For the first few months, Roy was less then amazing at taking care of his new dog and so Riza constantly needed to come over to make sure Roy didn't accidentally kill the poor dear. As for the three young pups, they were given away to loving homes.

2) After the events of the Promised Day they had both been plagued by many horrendous nightmares and they had found that the best way to get a good-night's sleep was to have the other around when they felt those nightmares creeping in.

Mustang was about to put the key into the whole when he noticed something was off; the door was slightly ajar.

"Someone's picked the lock." Mustang pushed open the door, turned on the lights and checked for any signs of damage to the apartment. Hayate pulled away from Fuery's meek grip and he followed Mustang as he walked hastily from one room to the next in his investigation. He wandered into Riza's bedroom; his men peered in but they did not dare step foot into the room. He pulled open a drawer, inside was her wooden jewelry box. Riza wasn't known for owning much in the way of jewelry, as she had no true reason to, she did however, own a few necklaces and bracelets. Roy popped open the lid and examined the contents; nothing had been taken. Then something caught his attention.

He picked up a pair of simple silver studs; they were the pair of earrings that Riza never took off. They were the pair that Roy had long ago transmuted for her.

"It's just as I expected." He spoke coolly but his hand was trembling with anger. He slid the earrings into his pocket and turned back to his team.

"Colonel Hawkeye has been kidnapped."

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><p>By the time Roy had finally gotten back home, it was late but he wasn't tired. After he had explained to his men his reasoning why he felt Hawkeye was kidnapped, he called up the Military's Investigations Department. He knew instantly that they were not going to be of much help but still it was a formality that needed to be covered.<p>

The Investigations Department was the one area that Fuhrer Grumman had overlooked while he continued to fix everything else in Amestris. They lacked not only leadership but a general clue about how an investigation was to be run. Mustang gave himself a mental note to have a talk with Grumman about this.

The lock on Riza's door had been picked, whoever it was had then called up Headquarters and pretended to be her, and on their way out they had accidentally left the door open; or was it an accident? '_Whoever it was' _Roy deduced _'they must have known her'_

There had been no sign of a struggle and nothing was missing. No something had been added.

'_Her earrings. Whoever took her purposely removed her earrings, but they didn't take them so why….?' _

Roy growled with annoyance. He was the only one capable of finding her but as it was he had no leads to follow; he was completely…

"AHH! I AM NOT USELESS!"

Roy threw up his hands then collected the pile of paperwork that had gone ignored during the day. It wasn't much of anything; he had sent Fuery home with the bulk of it. Roy sat down at his table and he picked up a pen and began to do his paperwork.

"Alright, Riza. I'm doing my own work today but as soon as I find you, it'll go back to being your responsibility."

Black Hayate appeared beside him, along with White Bacardi. In light of the current situation, Roy agreed to house Hayate until Hawkeye was found. The dog, had, thankfully been fixed shortly after his puppies were born. Both dogs wore somber faces as they looked to Roy for answers. All he could say was…

"I miss her too but I promise, I will find her."

He pulled out the earrings from his pocket, placed them on the table and set back to his work.

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><p>Unknowingly, just a few miles off Riza Hawkeye sat up in her bed, trying to deal with the frustration of not being able to remember a thing. Audrey was providing her with company and sitting at the edge of the bed.<p>

"Dr. Braun still needs to run a few more tests but he says that you'll most likely be able to go home tomorrow."

Riza smiled at the thought "It'll be good to get back to wherever it is I'm from." She found herself staring out the window, which overlooked most of Central. "Do you think, Hannah will forgive me?"

She thought back on how upset Hannah had been, but honestly,who could blame her? Her own mother had completely forgotten about her. Riza had to wonder if this was a common thing; perhaps she had always been neglectful and this would simply be the final straw to tear mother and daughter apart.

Audrey replied with her own sincere belief "Of course she will, you're her mother. Besides she's young and not the first daughter of an amnesia patient to cry. Give it a bit and she'll come around."

"I hope so."

She then asked tentatively "So...you still don't remember anything?"

Riza shook her head "All I can think of is..."

"The fire that consumed everything..." she finished, it was after all the only thing that Riza had mentioned (as far as memories went) to Audrey.

"Do you think that's where you got your burn marks from?"

"Who knows?"

Audrey got up "Well goodnight, Mrs. Canter."

"I've already told you, call me Margot."

"Margot, right. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." It was then as Audrey was leaving that an odd thought popped into Riza's mind. "Wait, Audrey."

"Yes?"

"Do you know what "Hayate" means?"

This seemed to perplex her "Uhhh...It's a foreign word. I know I've heard it before..." She struggled to connect the word to its meaning "Oh, yes! it means 'Hurricane'"

Now Riza was truly confused

"Why do you ask?"

Riza gave off an uncomfortable laugh "It's nothing, really. I'm sure it's just one of those strange words that come to mind when you can't remember anything."


	4. IV

**AN: This chapter is a bit longer then the rest but I still hope you enjoy ^_^**

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><p>"Where the hell is Havoc?" asked an irritated General Mustang.<p>

"I don't know, sir. He should have come back by now." Said Fuery "Do you want me to go get him?"

Roy shook his head "No, he'll be here soon." He then muttered under his breath "He'd better not be flirting with the copy girl."

They were all standing around in the lobby of Headquarters waiting for Havoc to return from the copy room so they could resume their search for Riza. After the unusually long night of paperwork, Roy was hoping that the new day would provide them with a solid lead.

They then saw Havoc strolling out from the direction of the copy room with a pile of fliers. "I've got those fliers that you asked for."

"It's about damn time." He chided gruffly

Havoc passed around a small stack to each member of the team. The fliers showed a picture of Riza Hawkeye in uniform, underneath the picture it read 'If you have any information on the location of Colonel Riza Hawkeye please call…' It then listed the number for Mustang's private line.

"Havoc, I told you to get a recent picture of Hawkeye. This one was taken before she got her hair cut."

"Sorry but it's the most recent one I could find, unless you have one that might be more appropriate to use."

He actually did but Havoc didn't need to know that.

"Alright, let's move out."

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><p>During the night her mind had been filled with an innumerable amount of fleeting images of flames and destruction. In her dreams she had walked through the center of a town that was ablaze; the cries of children calling out to their mothers could be heard all around. Upon her awakening Riza could not recall feeling any sense of fear for her safety, only the feeling of pure rage; but it was not an anger that was directed at another, it was that of self-loathing, as though she had something to do with the fire.<p>

She could not remember who had started the fire, only that when it had finally consumed everything in its path, there was a voice that spoke to her and it said "I'm sorry…"

The voice had belonged to a man and though Riza tried to pin point where she had heard it before, she could not. It certainly was not the voice of her husband, William and the only other male voice that she had heard since her accident was that of Dr. Braun, and his voice was far too deep. Whoever it was that had spoken to her in dream sounded lost, desperate, and it was evidential that they too, felt the same self-loathing that she did.

Perhaps then, they both were the ones responsible for the fire.

Riza tried to push it out of her mind but for a dream it was simply too vivid to be ignored.

It was early in the afternoon, around 3 o'clock, when she finally received the go ahead from her doctor to return home. While Riza was slowly learning to embrace the idea of returning home she also reluctant. There was something strange about all of this and the feeling was gnawing away at her.

When William arrived at the hospital he entered her room with a smile and carrying with him a change of clothes. Hannah had refused to enter the room and so she stayed out by the nurses' station with Audrey. Knowing that her own daughter did not wish to see her was only making Riza that much more determined to get her memories back.

"One of the nurses told me that the clothes they brought you in here with were dirty so I brought you a change." He offered her the bag and Riza took hold of it

"It was probably Audrey, we were talking last night."

As Riza made gestures indicating that she was about to get changed, William made no effort to move. In retrospect Riza could see why he didn't care, she was after all his wife, however after losing her memory she had gained a need for modesty and privacy. She felt uncomfortable as William just stood their, almost waiting for her to strip down in front of him. She began to wonder, 'what sort of relationship did they have?'

While she could not get him to move, there was a curtain which went across the room and worked perfectly as both a divider and a changing room. Needless to say even after Riza began changing behind the curtain, there was a lovely silhouette which was formed and he continued to watch.

"The house is just as you left it; all spick and span. I promise."

William watched her as she bent down to pick up an article of clothing which had dropped.

"Have you started to remember anything?"

Riza thought it over for a moment. What she remembered was more like a snippet from a dream; a fire that consumed everything and even still the only person she felt comfortable telling that to was Audrey.

"No."

"Any weird dreams?"

She didn't want to mention the flames but there was another dream; another strange one.

"Actually, yes. I dreamt of a funeral."

"Amazing you managed to survive a hit and run and the first thing you dream about is death." He playfully mocked.

"It was strange though…" she paused as she thought back to her dream "The only people who attended the funeral was myself and….a man."

"A man?"

Riza buttoned up the last button on her top and turned to open the curtain.

"Was he more handsome then me?" he teased

"Don't tell me you're jealous of a dream character."

"Hey, now that doesn't answer my question."

"I don't know, I couldn't see his face. He was wearing a military uniform. He kept talking about his dream to change Amestris for the better." Her voice was full of nostalgia and it troubled both of them.

"We should get going."

Riza nodded "I just want to thank Audrey first."  
>"Yeah, ok."<p>

She walked out of the room and he stood there looking as if he had only just reached the conclusion that her memory loss was going to impact their marriage.

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><p>Outside on the streets of Central, Roy and his team continued their search for their missing Colonel. They had been splitting up and passing out fliers, then they would meet up at a designated spot. It was now late in the afternoon, the paperwork was well piled upon Roy's desk, and not one person in the whole of Central had come forward with any information on Riza. It disgusted Roy to no end that most of the people he handed out filers to simply tossed it away in the trash without a second look.<p>

Still they continued to do what they could. It was then at around 5 o'clock that a man who was sitting outside on a porch came forward.

"Hey! Are you looking for that pretty blonde woman?"

Roy looked up at the man as he came stumbling down the porch steps. He was a man in his mid 40's with straggly brown hair, a thick mustache, and crooked teeth. At first Mustang couldn't tell if the man was insane or simply drunk but when the man was in close enough proximity he could easily smell the stench of bourbon pouring from his mouth.

"Have you seen her?"  
>"Aye"<p>

"When did you see her?"

"I think it was the night before last…"

Mustang pressed on trying to keep the old drunkards attention.

"Where was she?"

"It was late and I came out for a smoke. I saw her walking her dog across the street; cute Shiba Inu."

Then Havoc interjected "Hold on! How did you know Hayate is a Shiba Inu, for the longest time I thought he was a Husky?"

"The tail it curves differently and Husky's are much bigger." The man made exaggerated movements with his hands. "I breed 'em so I know."

"Oh so you're a breeder."  
>"No, I'm a school teacher. I just breed on the side."<p>

Havoc pulled Mustang off to the side and whispered "General this man is obviously insane. I don't think we should trust him."

Roy shook his head "This man could be locked up in a nut house and I'd still have to trust him because as of right now he's the only lead we have."

Roy turned back to the man "What happened to her?"

"Let's see…she was walking across the street." He pointed across the way "Then this car came out of no where and ran her down like a bat out of hell. The dog went running and then a little while later the car came back again. I thought they were going to do the right thing but they got out and they took something from her and left again."

'_The bastard came back for her earrings.'_

…After that an ambulance came by and picked her up."

"Was she alright? Where did they take her?"

"She was breathing when they picked her up. They drove her to Central Public Hospital."

Mustang nodded quickly "Thank you, sir."

They had their lead and they were off.

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><p>"Sir, I'm sorry but visiting hours are over." Spoke the nurse at the front desk.<p>

Mustang was trying to remain calm but it was an impossible task as Riza's condition remained unknown to him.

"Please, I need to know the condition of a patient. Please."

The nurse sighed as she gave into the General's desperate pleas "Name please?"

"Riza Hawkeye."

She began flipping through some files and shook her head "We don't have a record of anyone by that name."

"There must be some kind of mistake, try again."

She did but still she found nothing. Dr. Braun then approached upon seeing Mustang.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, doctor have you seen this woman?" Mustang showed him a flier and the doctor nodded "Yes, she was one of my patients. She left earlier today with her husband."

The whole team was taken aback "Husband? Are you sure you saw this woman?"

Dr. Braun looked again "Well her hair was much shorter but yes that's Margot Canter."

"This isn't Margot Canter this is Riza Hawkeye. She's my Colonel and I need to find her."

It was then that Audrey appeared and began quietly listening in on the conversation. "Can you please tell me where Mrs. Canter lives? She could be very beneficial in helping me find my Colonel."

"No."

"Doctor, I am General Roy Mustang, I'm very high up in the military and I'm also known as the Flame Alchemist." He produced his State Certified pocket watch. "If you'd please give me the information I need to find my Colonel, I will see to it that Fuhrer Grumman extends your budget."

Dr. Braun looked at him crossly and replied "I don't care whether or not you are a state Alchemist. I will not be bribed or pushed around by any of you military officers. Margot Canter is my patient and I say that you will not find out her address nor will you ever have access to any of my patients' records. I think I've made myself clear, now do me a favor and get the hell out of my hospital."

As Dr. Braun turned away it finally dawned on Audrey that Margot Canter really was Riza Hawkeye.

"He's the Flame Alchemist…"

_"It's funny that you mentioned burn marks because there is one thing I can remember; fire, it consumed everything."_

"Oh no…."


	5. V

**AN: I'd like to thank: Thieving Alchemist, PokemonFreak90, AnimeRomantic4Ever, YesMyLord666,** **Riza Hawkeye fan, and Cerisabeth for the reviews :)**

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><p>Once more Riza had awakened to the unique and perplexing feelings that her dream world had left her with. Though this time the bed in which she had slept was far more comfortable and the dream all the more sweeter. She had dreamed that she was a child again; there were several nasty girls who were teasing her because she owned nothing feminine; not so much as a nice dress. There was a boy who saw this, a boy with a rounded face and black hair. He made her a pair of earrings through alchemy.<p>

Riza now lay there in a sort of daze trying to figure out if it all really was just a dream or perhaps there was some twisted fragment of reality that had been carelessly tossed in there. She decided that the boy was familiar…somehow.

The aspect of the earrings was certainly fake. Yesterday, after dinner she had begun to feel faint and so she went to bed early. While walking up the stairs she noticed several pictures that had been framed and hung up on the wall. It was the first time that she could remember seeing a photo of what she looked like so she examined them closely. In all of them her hair was much longer then it now was but all and all, it really was her. That's when she noticed that in the photos of her, none of them showed her with her ears pierced ad yet feeling over the lobes of her ears she could tell that her ears had been pierced. She had then looked through her jewelry box, only to find that she did not own any earnings.

Why and when did her ears get pierced?

Riza felt a warm body moving closer to her and tiny hands began to nudge her back and forth.  
>"Good morning, Hannah."<p>

"Morning' mommy." She rested her head on Riza's side.

Before Riza had headed off to bed, Hannah and she had sat down for a talk, which ultimately ended with the girl saying that she was not mad at her. There would of course be some shakiness left in their relationship but Riza was confident that she could fix it.

Riza sat up and looked up at the clock that hung on the wall, it read 8 o'clock.

"What day is it?"

"Tuesday."

Riza rubbed her eyes "I may have lost my memory but even I know that little girls like you are meant to be in school now."

"Don't have to. Daddy said that I could stay home."

"Really? We'll see about that. Where is he?"

Riza began to get out of bed as the girl spoke "Daddy's gone. He always leaves early for work."

It made sense to Riza that he would leave early as while his pharmaceutical shop was located near the heart of Central; their home was located just outside of Central, in a place that had formerly been known as the slums of Kanama. The area had been completely renovated after the Promised Day and it was now the site of several very nice residencies.

After getting out of bed and heading down stairs to the kitchen Riza asked "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Waffles!"

"Ok."

Hannah seemed to regret what she said "Uhh…do you even remember how to make them?"  
>As Riza went to open on of the kitchen cabinets she said "I think I'll manage."<p>

She was startled though when she found that inside the cabinet where numerous bottles of various prescription pills. She knew that William was a pharmacist but that one cabinet alone could easily serve as the residential pharmacy.

"You're not supposed to open that one." Corrected Hannah "That's daddy's cabinet."

Riza closed the cabinet door as a sickening feeling took hold of her. William was obviously illegally selling away prescription pills and she was married to him. Something was very wrong here.

* * *

><p>After breakfast, Riza had come to the discovery that there was next to no food left in the house. So after getting dressed she and Hannah went walking into Central for groceries. As they walked through the busy streets, Hannah held on affectionately to her mother's hand and busied herself with window shopping. All the while Riza tried to find even the slightest thing that looked familiar.<p>

"I hope you're enjoying your day off because tomorrow you're going right back to school."  
>Hannah seemed to be more confused then disappointed.<p>

"Why?"

"Don't you like school?"

Hannah nodded "Yeah, its fun. It's just…daddy says girl's don't need to go to school."

That terrible feeling that something heinous was in the works came back to Riza in a flash. Memory or no memory, she knew for a fact that she would never marry a sexist drug dealer. What was going on?

"That's stupid; all children need to go to school. Don't you want to be something when you grow up?"  
>"You mean other then a house wife?"<p>

'_I'm just a house wife, aren't I? No…something very wrong is happening. Nothing is making any sense.'_

"Yes."

"Well….I like animals…so maybe a vet?"

"Then you definitely need to stay in school." Having just found out something new about her daughter, Riza continued on with the questions.

"Which animal is your favorite?"

"I like horses. Last year for my birthday you bought me a picture book filled with horses. You said that you'd take me riding when I got older."

Riza was about to speak when something on the sidewalk caught her attention. It was a flier that had been carelessly left upon the ground and while most would just call it garbage, for Riza it held her interest captive. It was a missing person's flier with an image of a young military officer, who looked exactly like her, only with longer hair and this person's name was 'Colonel Riza Hawkeye'. There was a number at the bottom of the page and it said 'If you have any information please call…' The number was for the private line of a man named General Mustang. It frightened her, for without even needing to see the numbers she already knew them by heart.

For the first time since the accident something other then her dreams felt recognizable. With a sudden flash of unimaginable speed, Hannah ripped the flier out of Riza's grasp and tore it to shreds before disposing the remnants in a near by trash can.

"Hannah, why did you do that? It's very rude to pull something out of someone's hands."

In Hannah's wide blue eyes, Riza could see the obvious sight of absolute terror. Hannah was not frightened by Riza scolding her though, it was something else.

"You shouldn't have picked it up, it was trash anyway!"

Small and trembling hands wrapped themselves around Riza's waist and held on tightly "Please don't go away again. Please don't leave me alone again."

Hannah was in tears and so Riza held her closely and whispered "I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

><p>The disappointment left over from the previous day still stained the air. Mustang had stopped doing his paperwork, while his men continued onward with theirs. He said that he would do it when he got home, strangely, for once the men believed him. Roy had, after all, turned in the last batch without a problem.<p>

Roy sat at his desk with his head down but he was not sleeping, he was just sitting there. Riza was gone and yet the idle office work continued to pile up, for the rest of the world nothing had changed but for Roy and his team, everything had suddenly become vastly different.

Roy knew that this "Margot Canter" had something to do with Riza's current location but there was no way he could get to those files that Dr. Braun was hiding from him. The whole situation appeared to be completely hopeless. Then a knock was heard at the door.

Fuery got up to answer it.  
>When he opened it he saw a very lovely looking woman with short brown hair and hazel eyes. She wore a nurse uniform and it was evident that she had just gotten of her last shift. It was Audrey from Central Public Hospital.<p>

"Excuse me but may I speak to General Mustang."

Fuery looked back at Mustang; he nodded in approval. She entered the room and walked up to Mustang's desk, a file in her hand.

"Genreal Mustang, I understand that you are looking for Colonel Riza Hawkeye?"

He looked up at her from his desk, still in no mood to be bothered with visitors and yet undoubtedly his attention had been called forth by the mentioning of his subordinates name.

"I think I met her. You see she was brought in after she was struck down by a car. She was still unconscious when a man named William Canter came in looking for his wife. When he saw your Colonel he told us that she was his wife and that her name was Margot. Naturally we had no choice but to believe him..."

She seemed hesitant to explain why.

Mustang began to rise as she continued to speak.

"I was talking to her and she remembered nothing but fire and then I heard you talking to Dr. Braun and you said you were the Flame Alchemist. So I brought this."

Audrey handed him the file.

"Inside is Margot Canter's address and other information. I'm sorry that Dr. Braun didn't give this to you when you asked. It's just that he's a bit of a conspiracy theorist and he's convinced that when Fuhrer Bradley died it was because the military had him killed. He's been suspicious of anyone in the military ever since."

Roy was now standing perfectly straight, filled with a sudden boost of confidence.

"Thank you miss. Thank you so much."

He then turned to Havoc "Havoc you're coming with me. We're going to get Hawkeye back."

* * *

><p><strong>EN: So yes it would appear that Hannah is not as innocent as we once thought; or perhaps she is simply too innocent for her own good. That's up for you to decide. Anyways be sure to check out the next chapter when I update and find out what happens when Mustang attempts to bring back Riza. <strong>


	6. VI

**AN: This is a bit long but oh so much happens.**

**Alright boys and girls although this chapter is still rated T it is a VERY strong T because 1) I'm paranoid and 2) William is a creep. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>The home was small but quaint and it was located in a picturesque setting, far from any rowdy neighbors or prying eyes. It certainly would be the ideal place to raise a family. Still Roy knew better then to think that this was a happy home; it was far from that. This was the home of the man who had stolen his Colonel, for what, he couldn't say but he had come to get his questions answered and to, hopefully have his Colonel returned to him.<p>

On the way over, while Havoc drove at an erratically fast pace, at Roy's command, he read over the file that Audrey had given him. If his suspicions were correct and this "Margot Canter" was actually Riza, it meant that she was now suffering from amnesia and in all likelihood would not remember him.

He knew that Riza had not just awakened in the hospital and suddenly declared herself to be Margot Canter, someone had found her there and given her this new identity; for what purpose, Roy had no clue but he would know soon enough.

Havoc and Roy got out of the car; they signaled to each other that they were now ready to face whatever situation awaited them behind the door. In truth, Roy was not ready; he would never be ready to find that the girl he had grown up with had forgotten him.

Mustang knocked on the front door with the back of his hand, all the while attempting to keep up his nearly unreadable expression. The door opened up and woman with blonde hair appeared.

"Hello, can I help you?"

She was out of her military garbs but it was, unmistakably, Riza. One look at her expression and Roy could tell that it was as he feared; she had forgotten him.

"Hello, Mrs. Canter." The words tasted bitter in his mouth. He had known her since he was 10 and now they were back to being strangers meeting awkwardly in a doorway.

"I'm General Roy Mustang and this is my Captain, Jean Havoc. Is your husband home, we'd like to speak with him." It was almost all too painful to bear and Havoc eyed him suspiciously as he tried to figure out what his plan was. Roy didn't have a plan and that look in her eyes only made him wish that he could simply pull her away from this place.

Small footsteps ran towards the door. Clinging onto Riza's skirt was a young girl. In Roy's mind he could easily picture them as being biological mother and daughter, they had the same lovely blonde hair and facial features.

"Yes, my husband just came home. Please, come inside." She backed up and allowed them in. Never in his entire life, had Roy felt so strange. Everything about this place was telling him he did not belong; that he had no right to take anything or anyone away from this. Hannah eyed them both with a critical glare. Riza called out to Will, who was upstairs. Roy didn't like this at all. She was calling this man Will and treating that child like her own and none of this was real. He wanted to tell her everything but wouldn't that only cause more problems? How would anyone respond to someone telling them that what they believed to be real wasn't? No, he could not do that, he'd have to make her remember and give her time to adjust to the notion that all of this was a lie.

"May I ask what this is about?"  
>He could at least be honest about that.<p>

"My Colonel has gone missing. She was last seen being taken to Central Public Hospital and I heard that you were a patient at the time she was brought in and I was hoping that you might have seen her. Then I was informed about your accident and condition so I thought I'd better ask your husband instead."

"Oh, I saw one of your fliers. I hope you find her."

"Yeah, me too." He mumbled softly

She then noticed something, the color of his irises. His onyx colored eyes seemed to stir within her a memory. Riza ventured closer towards Mustang in the hopes of understanding where she knew him from. Roy was caught of guard by how close she was getting but seeing that look in her eyes changing into something of curiosity, of nostalgia, he hoped that she would remember him.

"You look…familiar."

A rather tall man with blonde hair and blue eyes came marching down the stairs and Riza pulled away, the look of reminiscence faded swiftly from her eyes.

"Will, these two men are looking for their Colonel. She was last seen at Central Public."

William held her close to his side and Mustang clenched his fist. Will seemed to understand how much this was frustrating Roy and so he pressed on with more touches.

"Margot, could you please take Hannah outside?"

Her eyes lingered on Roy but still he complied and walked out into the backyard with Hannah. As soon as the door closed behind the pair, the truth came out.

"Wow, I never thought I'd see Hawkeye as a housewife." Commented Havoc, he'd been holding that in since the door first opened.

"Hawkeye? Is that her name?"

"You mean to tell us that you took someone without even knowing who they were?" asked Mustang incredulously.

"Yes. I don't know who she was and I still have no idea who you are."

"Right, pardon me. I'm General Roy Mustang."

"And I'm Captain Jean Havoc." He began to ease his hand into his jacket pocket and pull out a new pack of cigarettes,

"I'm sorry Captain but I don't allow smoking in my house."

Havoc reluctantly slid the pack back into his pocket and sighed anxiously.

"So her name is Hawkeye?"

"Colonel Riza Hawkeye."

"I see."

William walked off into the kitchen and Roy and Jean followed behind him. William sat down at the table and offered them a seat, they both declined.

"I'm amazed that you were able to control yourselves. If I were you I would have just taken her with me."

"I'm not like you. I realize that it will take time for Riza to begin to remember anything. Tell me, why did you take her?"

He took his time with answering as thoughts of the past slowly returned to him "A month ago my wife left me. Margot, the **real** Margot, had gotten tired of me and our life; she even grew to hate this house."

Roy was in no mood to be listening to stories of woe, particularly from a man who clearly lacked any respect for other human beings.

"I didn't have the heart to tell my daughter, Hannah, what had happened so I told her that Margot had gone away on a trip. Hannah has always been very bright and she was beginning to catch on to what really happened and that's when your Colonel had her accident. I saw it happen and I called the ambulance, when they got there I followed after them and I told them that she was Margot."

William got up from his chair, left the room, and returned with a framed photo.

"I even had pictures to show them and when Margot woke up and she had no memories, I knew I had made the right choice."

He then showed the photo to Mustang and Havoc. It was a picture from William and Margot's wedding day. They were both struck by the horrific sight before them. Margot Canter looked identical that of Riza.

"You see? Margot and Riza could have been sisters, twins even. Knowing Margot's mother I wouldn't be surprised if they were blood related."

He took the photo back and sat down. He smiled cockily at Roy.

"It was a sign. This way everybody wins; well except you."

"What do you mean?"

"I get a wife, Hannah get's a mother, and your Colonel get's a family. The only one who losses everything in this situation is you."

"You bastard! You can't just take away someone's entire life and make them whatever it is you want them to be!"

"Calm down, General. You aren't rallying the troops; we're just having a polite conversation."

Mustang really hated this guy and words could not describe how tempted he was to reach for his ignition gloves and light this guy on fire.

"Was Mar-Riza involved in the Ishvalan Civil War?"

"Yes."

"And what did she do when she was there?"

Roy glared at him "Why do you care?"

"She has recently told me that she has been having dreams of a fire consuming an entire village. Since she was in the military I'd assume that would be a memory of Ishval."

"So she does remember something?"

"Bits and pieces but not a full picture. I doubt she'll remember much more."

"Why not?"

William shook his head "You still haven't answered my question."

Roy was growing tired of playing this game "She was a sniper."

"And you? What did you do?"

"I am a State Alchemist. I'm known as the Flame Alchemist."  
>William smiled devilishly "Take a look outside." William pointed nonchalantly towards the window. Roy walked over and gazed out. He saw Riza out in the yard with Hannah; they were playing Hide and Go Seek. She was smiling, she was laughing. She was happy.<p>

"Do you understand? Here she has a chance to be freed from all of those horrific memories. She can start over. You can't honestly say that her smile isn't genuine. Would you really take this opportunity away from her?"

Roy's gaze lingered upon the false mother and child. "What happiness can come from turning away from reality?"

"Would you rather she remember the slaughter?"

Roy turned away from the window.

"I'll give you her back if you can prove that she isn't Margot Canter. After all if you were to tell The Investigations Department this they'd ask for proof as well. I'm sure there must be something physical that would separate Margot from Riza. A birthmark or scar?"

Yes, there were two things which would easily separate Riza from any other woman in Amestris; her burn marks and tattoo. He could not tell this man that nor could he tell anyone else. He knew that when Riza got her memory back and she found out about that she'd kill him. It was her secret and he had to make sure that it stayed a secret.

"No, they really are identical. Havoc, we're leaving."

"What, sir?"

"There's nothing we can do. Let's go."

William smiled smugly as the two men left.

* * *

><p>"Sir, we can't just leave her there."<p>

"I know that. I've never had amnesia; the most traumatic thing that has ever happened to me was going blind."

"Sir?" questioned a confused Havoc

"When I was blind I felt a shock to my system every time someone was pushing me off somewhere else or when I tried to move. I'd imagine amnesia is very much like that. You have no idea where you're going or where you're coming from. If I were to tell her that all of this was fake, I can't imagine what her reaction would be like."

Instead of going to where the car was parked Mustang lead Havoc to the fence of the backyard.

"Excuse me?"

Riza heard him and approached the fence. "Did you get any new leads on finding your Colonel?"

"Yes, actually." He took out a business card from his pocket and he handed it to Riza "If you start to remember anything or if you just want to talk, call me."

She took hold of the card "Thank you."

As they turned away, beaten but not defeated, Mustang heard Riza call out to him "I'm going to get my memories back!"

'_And I'm going to bring you back home.'_

* * *

><p>That night, after dinner, Riza began to feel drained again. She couldn't tell what it was that was making her so tired. She went up stairs and removed her clothes. She paused and then made her way over the mirror. She recalled what Audrey had said about her burn marks and tattoo but she herself had never seen them. Riza positioned herself in front of the mirror and turned her head slightly.<p>

She was shaken to find out just how intricate of a design her tattoo was. It had so many peculiar images and the writing was all in Latin. They were words that she didn't know the meanings of. The burn marks were also meticulously placed on top of large sections of her tattoo, as though they had been done with purpose.

She reached back and felt over the largest burn mark with her hand. The new skin was and would always be damaged but it was soft. How had this happened?

"What's wrong?"

Riza looked up and saw William walking into the bedroom. She had grown slightly more relaxed in his company but she still did not like having him put her in this sort of situation. Still, she needed to know how this had happened.

"Why do I have this tattoo?"

William ventured near, pretending to know what she was talking about and already formulating some bullshit answer in his head. He sat down beside her on the bed, a little too close for Riza's comfort; and just like that, Riza had given away her biggest secret to what might as well be, a complete stranger.

William studied the tattoo and all of its fragmented pieces.

'_If Mustang didn't bother to mention this little tidbit, she must have a truly dark past.'_

"Oh that. When you were young you were very wild. You and your friends had a bit too much to drink one night and you came home with this tattoo."

"And the burn marks?"  
>He gently caressed one of the marks, causing her to shiver uneasily. None of this felt right.<p>

"When your father found you he was so angry with what you had done, he tried to remove the tattoo himself by burning it off."

None of this felt right. He began to plant butterfly kisses on her back; her secret stained by lips that were not Roy's. She shuddered and in her mind she was screaming with desperation to escape. He was her husband, wasn't he? They had a child together, didn't they? Why was it that the only things that made any sense were General Mustang and those surreal dreams?

She thought back to the dream that she had in the hospital; the one about the funeral and the faceless soldier. Whose funeral was it? Her mind began to drift off to the only thing that felt real anymore, while William continued to indulge in his individual pleasure. That's when it hit her.

"Berthold."

William stopped and looked at her oddly "What?"  
>"Berthold was my father's name. He died in 1905." These were statements not questions. Suddenly, Riza felt so much more at peace. She remembered something.<p>

"That dream I had about the funeral, it wasn't just a dream; it was a memory. That was my father's funeral."

"Why is it when you do remember something, it's something sad."

Riza's shook her head "It's strange but it wasn't sad. That man whose face I couldn't see, he kept talking about the plans he had for this country. His dreams filled me with hope. I believed every word he said."

Riza was smiling, pleased that she was finally able to get a grasp on something from her past. She hardly even noticed when William got up and said he was going to tuck Hannah into bed. Nothing in this life made any sense but at least she had that one small memory. She got dressed for bed and pulled out the card that Roy had given to her. She decided that she'd call him in the morning.

* * *

><p>"Riza's an interesting name."<p>

Mustang shrugged as he attempted to hold in his laughter. It was strange that she could say her own name was interesting and not even flinch. "Yeah, it's a derivative of the name Thereza, it means guardian; and she is that alright."

Riza and Roy were sitting in a café and talking and had been for a number of hours. He had been surprised to hear her call back so soon but he was also, thankful. He was hoping that perhaps in the midst of their conversation she might have a break through and be able to retrieve her memories.

"My name means King and I'm on my way to becoming Fuhrer."

She started laughing.

"What? This country could do far worse then me."  
>"Is that your campaign slogan?"<br>"Alright, do you want to hear a really strange name? My Colonel named her dog Black Hayate."

Riza thought the name over for a moment "I don't think it's such a bad name, especially since he was found in a rain storm."

Both of them froze as her words echoed in their minds. She had remembered another fact. Things were going great.

"You're right. Now do you know who found him?"

"…No…"

"His name is Kain Fuery."

"Oh, is he really tall with gray hair and squinty eyes?"

"No, that's Vato Falman. He was transferred up North two years ago. Settled down, had a family. He hasn't been back in Central since."

They both took a sip of their tea. "So until you find your Colonel where is Hayate staying?"

"With me and White Bacardi."

"White Bacardi?"  
>"Yes, my dog and Hayate's girlfriend."<p>

"You named your dog after rum?" she asked in disbelief

"What's so bad about that?"  
>"She's a dog not booze and if you can't tell the difference then I don't think you should have ownership over either of them."<p>

They both giggled; even now with most of her memories erased she still knew how to push his buttons.

"Do you really think I'm your Colonel?" she asked seriously

"It is a very real possibility. I'm hoping that you'll start to remember more things as time goes on but I don't want to push you into it."

"Thank you. I don't know what having amnesia is supposed to be like but everyday I feel so confused but then I see you or I have one of those strange dreams and things feel clearer."

"Strange dreams?"

"Yeah, for instance last night I dreamt of monsters."

Roy fought though his laughter as he spoke "Monsters?"

"I know it sounds silly but they felt real. There was this one who was really fat and he tried to eat me and then there was this other one, she didn't look like a monster but she wouldn't die either. That time I was crying; I was going to let her kill me. I don't know why though."

'_Amazing, she's dreaming of Homunculi' _

That's when an idea popped into Roy's head. While he wanted to ease Riza back into her normal life and get her away from the nut job, he thought it might be good to show her a place that held some familiarity with her.

"In the dream of the woman, was there a mural?"

"Yes…"

"Come on, I want to show you something."

* * *

><p>When they entered through the doors of the third laboratory, they were greeted with an onslaught of stares and whispers. Riza felt uncomfortable and yet confident that she knew where she was going. They then came to a spot on the wall and Roy drew a circle on the wall and with a simple act of alchemy he was able to break a whole in the wall. The scientist were horrified and yet forced to ignore it because he was a state alchemist and he proceeded to show off his pocket watch as proof.<p>

With the wall now gone a staircase could now be seen and it led down into a dark and cavernous basement. Riza was far from fearful now, she was certain that she had been there before. They walked down the stairs and turned to the right. They walked down a long and winding passage way.

Then they arrived in a huge white room, where a fierce fight had obviously taken place. Across from them were two large doors, that were partly open but the mural was still visible.

"This place is going to be destroyed soon. Most of the tunnels have already been paved over by Briggs; otherwise Drachma would try and sneak their forces in."

Riza walked out into the center of the room "This place is from my dream."

Mustang nodded knowingly. "Then that monster was also real?"

"She was a Homunculus known as Lust."

"You killed her. I kept shooting at her but you…you incinerated her."

"Yes."

"I think I may be your Colonel, sir."

* * *

><p>She didn't get all of her memories back and since it was so early, Roy wasn't expecting her to. Whatever she could remember was progress and he was satisfied with whatever he could get. He knew that's she'd be coming home soon enough. He drove her back to the Canter home, despite how much it bothered him. Riza said that she needed to be there for Hannah's sake. Roy thought it was sweet that his strong willed Colonel could become so attached to a child.<p>

They made a solemn vow to one another; he promised to find a way to get her back and she promised to remember ever last memory, good and bad.

When Riza returned home, William was already back. He was in the kitchen cooking dinner.

"Hey sweetie, where have you been?"

Riza fought back, trying hard not to let her apprehension show through.

"I was walking around in the city."

He nodded stiffly, it was a terrible lie. He had seen Mustang's car.

"That's nice dear. Dinner is almost done."

She nodded quietly and walked of to find Hannah.

When she was gone William pulled open his cabinet door and removed one of the many pill bottles. He took out 4 large capsules, opened them up and spread it over Riza's plate. It was a shame that he'd have to up her dosage. He couldn't have her leave, after all, they were family."


	7. VII

****A******N: Sorry, would have updated yesterday but it was my Nephew's birthday. **

**Thank you: Thieving Alchemist, Cerisabeth, YesMyLord666, Knight of Balinor, AnimeRomantic4Ever, Happy, Riza Hawkeye fan, ChocoChip101, DeathKiki, and Lt. Gungirl**

* * *

><p>One week. It had been one week since Roy and Riza had met in the café. One long, agonizing week of not knowing what had happened to her. When Roy tried to call her the phone would ring off the hook. Sometimes he would be sitting at home, and the phone would ring once and then stop. He was certain that it had been her but he had no proof. Then one day out of the blue, Roy finally received a call from Riza.<p>

On the phone she sounded calm but distant. Something had obviously happened but as usual Riza acted as if it was nothing.

They met in the same café and sat at the same table but things were different. There was no playful banter between the two or any fond memories suddenly resurfacing. Riza had to focus all of her energy on keeping her head up.

"Please tell me what's wrong."  
>"It's nothing. I've just been feeling sick lately."<p>

Roy didn't believe her. Memories or no memories, Riza had a stubborn streak and it always seemed to show its self whenever he was trying to help her. He knew that it was more then a sickness and he had a hunch that she knew it too but unless she gave in and fessed up, there wasn't much that Roy could do.

"Have you been able to remember anything else?"

It was almost too much work to so much as shake her head. "I'm going to remember everything; I've already promised you that. I haven't been feeling well and I thought that if I saw you things would…"

"Things would what?"

'_Things would go back to making sense'_

Riza looked up at the clock on the wall and she stood up; shakily. "I'm sorry, I have to go. Hannah is coming home from school and I need to be there."

Roy went to get up as he spoke "I'll drive you there."

"No, that won't be necessary."

He knew that what she really meant was, she was afraid that William would come home early or that somehow he'd see them. Roy felt as though he and Riza were secret lovers, having to hide from her husband's vigilant watch. At any moment they could be caught and if they were, they would pay for it dearly. That wouldn't be so bad if Riza was actually in that life and if their roles had never been altered. She was his loyal subordinate and she was meant to stay by his side at all times, not by William's.

* * *

><p>After school, Hannah found herself in a state of near isolation. Though Riza had tried with all her might to stay not only awake but to keep her balance, she ultimately lost and had to spend the next several hours upstairs in bed.<p>

It was times like this that Hannah found herself wishing for either a dog or a sibling. She didn't have many friends and even when she was around them at school, she somehow felt just as lonely as when they were not there.

When her father returned home from work, he went straight into the kitchen and began preparing dinner. She managed to keep her distance from him for a while and she fended off her boredom with a book but soon the silence of the house proved to be too much and Hannah entered the kitchen.

At first William did not notice her standing there. He took down the pill bottle from the cabinet and he sighed heavily as he spoke to himself "If only you'd behave…"

Once more he took out 4 large capsules from the same bottle, opened them, and poured its contents over Riza's food. He then mixed it in well so she would not notice. William knew exactly what effects this drug could have on a person and he could already see it taking its toll on Riza's body. Still as it worked to weaken her physically it would also weaken her ability to concentrate and without that, no more memories could ever be recovered.

Then he saw Hannah. She looked at her father with sheer terror as her mind worked to connect the dots. She was always such a bright girl. William smiled as he brought his finger to his lips and made the motion of silence. Hannah backed out of the kitchen slowly, not daring to turn her back on her father.

* * *

><p>That night at dinner the only one who had an appetite was William. The medication that Riza was unknowingly consuming made it difficult for her to so much as lift her fork. Her head was pounding as her mind filled with a thousand disjointed thoughts. Hannah knew what her father was doing and it troubled her but with her father continuously eyeing her she couldn't say anything.<p>

"Hannah is something wrong?" questioned Riza. Even in this state she was able to notice that Hannah had yet to even touch her plate.

"Yes, Hannah. What's wrong?"

She knew by just her father's look alone that if she were to say anything something bad was going to happen to her. She let her head drop and she mumbled something about feeling nauseous before bolting out of the dinning room.

Again after her meal, Riza began to feel worse. Hannah offered to help walk her upstairs as now simple movements such as these had become far too tiring on her body. At any given moment she could simply collapse and possibly never wake up.

Hannah placed Riza in bed and as soon as her head hit the pillow she was out. Hannah remained in the room. She watched as Riza slept and she thought back to how Riza had been when she first came home from the hospital and how much fun they had. This was no way for either of them to be living. Hannah began to shake her.

"Wake up! Wake up! I know you're not dead yet!"

Riza stirred slightly but still did not wake.

"Get up! Please get up! Come on!"

Hannah began to speak softer and closer in her ear "If you get up we can go away. We can go anywhere you want. I've heard about this place called Rush Valley, I don't know much about it but I like the name. We could go there. We could go anywhere, just please get up." Her voice had reached its high point of desperation. Then she saw Riza's lips moving and she listened carefully.

"I didn't steal them, Father. Mr. Mustang gave me these earrings."

Riza was in the midst of a dream and Hannah could not wake her. The dream did give her an idea, though. When Mustang had come to the house and given Riza his card, Hannah had seen it. As Riza slept soundlessly Hannah went on a hunt through Riza's dresser drawers for Mustang's card. When she found it, she walked out of the bedroom.

* * *

><p>When her father had gone to bed and he was certain that Hannah was asleep, she snuck down stairs. She crept quietly into the kitchen, with Mustang's card in her grasp. Hannah didn't want to give up her mother but she knew that if Riza stayed there any longer, she was going to end up dead. The only one who could save her now was Mustang.<p>

Hannah moved the stool underneath the phone and climbed on top of it so she could reach the phone. She dialed the number and the phone started to ring.

'_Pick up, pick up; pick up!'_

The light turned on. She held her breath. She heard a voice.

"Hannah, who are you calling?"

She dropped the card; her father had caught her. He approached her with that all too calm smile. He hung up the phone.

They were family, weren't they? First Riza had tried to leave and now his own daughter was calling to sick the military hounds on him. Why did they try so hard to escape the happiness that he was so generously giving them?

He placed a hand on his daughter's trembeling shoulders. He bent down to her level and said "You love your mommy, don't you?"

She nodded.

"And you love your daddy, don't you?"

Her nod was more hesitant but she couldn't deny that she still loved him.

"And you want to keep your family, don't you?"

"Yes."

He removed his hand and reached down to pick up the card that had fallen. He ripped it in two and then turned back to his daughter.

"I think it's time that all little girls be in bed."

Hannah took her cue to leave but he held her back by her wrist.  
>"Goodnight, Hannah."<p> 


	8. VIII

**AN: I realize that not much happened in the last chapter but I still had to write it in order to show how the drug is effecting Riza and how Hannah tries to help her because she is worried. **Rebecca Catalina is not an OC, she was in a few later episodes of Brotherhood and she is Riza's best friend. **  
><strong>

* * *

><p>The next morning, William headed off to work and Hannah pretended to leave for school. She knew that Riza wanted her to go to school but she couldn't leave her alone, especially since she had yet to wake up. When Riza had first arrived home from the hospital waking up early seemed to be second nature to her but now it seemed that nothing could make her rise.<p>

For the rest of the day Hannah waited patiently by Riza's bedside. She checked her temperature but she didn't even feel warm; at least that was one thing the drug was not messing with. Often Hannah could hear Riza talking in her sleep, most of the time what she said appeared to be directed towards either Mustang or someone named Hayate. Hannah thought it was a rather strange name.

It wasn't until early evening that her eyes showed any signs of moving. Her lids finally opened and Hannah went down stairs and made her some soup. She brought it back upstairs; carefully. As Riza began to awaken, her mouth went lip and Hannah used it as a way to feed her.

It was Hannah's belief that after almost an entire day spent in bed, the least she could do for her was to provide her with some drug free nourishment. It had been the first thing that Riza had eaten since leaving the hospital that posed no threat to her. Hannah had to take on the task of both keeping her head elevated and feeding Riza. She was still too weak to do much of anything for herself.

When Riza had fully awaken and she was able to sit up properly, Hannah knew that it was time for her to confess to what she knew. In her weakened state Riza would be no match against William, and Hannah knew it.

"Riza, I think it's time that you went home."

Riza looked up at her slightly perplexed; her head still spinning. "Why did you call me that?"

"I saw the name on the flier; the one you picked up on the street." Her voice and head were lowered in shame.

"I've known that you weren't my real mommy since I saw you in the hospital. My daddy killed my mommy, a month ago. After it happened he lied to me and he told me that mommy had gone away to visit my grandparents. He didn't know that I was hiding and I saw the whole thing. If you don't believe me then see for yourself, she's buried in the backyard, under a tree."

Riza's head was still throbbing from the overload of medication but she believed everything that Hannah said. She was the first person in a week to make any sense.

"Then daddy said you were hurt on your way back home and I wanted to believe him. I cried when I saw you because you looked so much like her but when you didn't know who I was, I knew you couldn't be her. My mommy would never forget me. I wanted to keep you here just as much as daddy does but I can't do that anymore. If you stay here any longer you'll die just like mommy did."

Hannah's fists were clenched tightly and tears began to rolls down her cheeks. With awkward movements of her unbalanced body, Riza pulled the girl closely to her. Although she was now receiving the closest thing to her mother's hug, Hannah had to focus on getting Riza out of the house.

"I'm not supposed to have a mommy and you're not supposed to be here. You need to go back to General Mustang." Hannah went over to the dresser and took out some clothes. Riza began to ease herself out of bed and Hannah brought the clothes to her in a neatly folded stack.

"I'm not going to leave you here."

Hannah didn't believe her. "Just get dressed and try not to fall asleep, again."

She left the room with a false appearance of anger that Riza could clearly see was actually deep and unrelenting sadness. With cautious movements Riza got changed into the clothes that she was handed and she stumbled towards the door and down the stairs. She found Hannah in the kitchen, holding a nearly empty pill bottle.

"I'm not leaving you here by yourself."

Hannah handed her the bottle, it read on the label 'Dilexinal "You're not sick. He's been drugging you. You were never meant to be here so you need to go but I have to stay."

"Hannah, please come with me." Riza tried to urge the girl forth but she would not budge. When Riza tried to pick the stubborn girl up, she felt herself nearly topple over.

"You can barely stand by yourself. You can't take me with you. You need to go."

She was right and Riza knew it.

"I will come back for you."

Hannah said nothing as Riza left the house.

"Goodbye, mommy."

* * *

><p>Roy was sitting on the floor, his back propped up against the wall and his legs spread. White Bacardi laid her head on his left leg and Black Hayate laid his head on the right. In between his legs was glass of Bandy; half empty. He sat there fooling around with Riza's barrette; opening and clothing it.<p>

He could have easily blamed his presence in Riza's apartment on the fact that Hayate had whined and pleaded until he took him back to his real home, but this was far from true. Roy was the one who wanted to be there; despite the fact that he and the dogs would be the only ones there.

It troubled Roy to no end that Riza wasn't there and instead she was at home with her artificial family. He flipped the barrette open again as he pictured what her long hair had once looked like when she took it down and they were in a far from professional setting. He thought of those late night conversations in her apartment and how at times he seemed to be so close that he swore he could touch the softness of her skin, only to barred from ever doing so by those pragmatic looks she'd give him.

He couldn't tell whether it was the booze or his own depressed feelings creeping in or both, but Roy felt then so very...

"I am not useless, Hayate!"

There was a knock on the door. The dogs left there spots on the floor and wandered over to the front door. Without thinking Roy opened up the door.

"Captain Catalina?"

"General Mustang? What are you doing in Riza's apartment?"

He looked at Rebecca, she was carrying a small overnight bag. She'd obviously been planning on visiting with Riza.

"Uhh...please come in."

Rebecca almost called him General but he asked that they drop the formalities. This was after all a very awkward moment. Rebecca placed her bag down on the couch and examined the living room. She noted that Roy's glass was on the floor.

"You better pick your glass up before Riza sees it. I doubt she'd want you to leave good crystal on the floor."

"Riza isn't here." he said softly

"If she isn't home then why are you here? More importantly why are you holding her barrette?"

He had no good excuse.

"Where is Riza?"

He told her everything that he knew. After he was done she sighed with what sounded to be sheer annoyance.

"Let me get this straight. Riza, my best friend and your Colonel has been kidnapped by some creep because he wanted to have his wife back but you feel so completely useless..."

"I am not useless."

"So instead of doing anything productive you are now sitting in her apartment getting wasted? This is exactly way I'm still in the military and single, because none of you men can handle problems like this."

"Really? I thought you were with Havoc."

Rebecca blushed slightly "No, no. Havoc and I aren't like that. I just hope you know that when Riza does get her memories back I'm going to have to tell her about this."

"Why?"

"Because we're best friends, it's what we do. Besides, you went rummaging around in her jewelry box." She was sitting on the couch now and fumbling around with Riza's earrings that she had found on the table.

"Did this Margot Canter really look identical to Riza? There must be something that separates them."

Roy looked off thoughtfully for a moment. Her tattoo and burn marks could never be shown and no one could ever know about them. Riza would hate him if he were to reveal them.

"I'm sure Margot didn't have Riza's tattoo."  
>Roy's eyes widened in surprise.<p>

"Don't be so shocked. Riza and I were roommates in the academy; I saw it. You're right not to tell anyone else about it, she'd kill you if you did."

His eyes caught hold of the earrings that were now back on the table. He picked them up delicately and the sudden realization finally hit him.

_'Margot Canter didn't have pierced ears...'_

"Bastard." He whispered.

"What?"

Roy left the room, grabbed his coat, put it on, and slid the studs in his pocket. Rebecca entered the room trying to find out what was going on.

"That bastard didn't just happen to find Hawkeye in the hospital, he's the one who put her there. He ran her down, came back, took her earrings, and then broke in here and made that phone call."

Roy was about to storm out door. "Where are you going?"  
>"I'm sure now that I can save her. I just need to check something first. Are you coming?"<p>

"Yeah." She grabbed her own coat and they took off, leaving the two dogs behind.

* * *

><p>Sheska sighed with relief. "Finally, I'm all done for today!"<p>

She stretched and grabbed her jacket. She looked out the window and saw the sun beginning to set. "If I'm lucky I may actually make it home before the sun goes down all the way." She smiled at the thought.

Then the door to the Investigations' office opened up and in came marching General Mustang and Captain Catalina.

"Private Sheska, I need your help."

The mousy girl began to stammer "With...what.. sir?"

"Do you remeber reading anything about a Margot Canter?"

Sheska began to think through the confines of her mind. "Oh, yes. About a month ago Margot Canter's parents filed a missing persons reprt on their daughter."

"Thank you."

* * *

><p>Roy and Rebecca were once again on the move.<p>

"This proves it now. I now know why he really wanted Hawkeye so badly."

As they left through the main gates of Central Headquarters, the both saw a woman whom they instantly recognized.

"Riza..." Roy began walking towards her and a faster pace.

She was holding onto a wall, her head pounding, her vision fading. It had taken all of her strength to make it this far and now she could go on no longer. Riza had found Mustang.

She felt herself drop and she fell back onto the side walk and lost consciousness.


	9. IX

**AN: And so now we march closer to the end my dear friends. It's been a short but enjoyable journey for me and I hope that you agree. **

* * *

><p>Once more Riza had lost consciousness and once more she was in Central Public Hospital. She was sleeping as Roy and Rebecca held vigil over her and waited impatiently for news of her current condition. Roy sat in a chair, his head resting on his hands and his back arched forward. He watched his sleeping Colonel as he mentally cursed himself for not realizing sooner that being in that house would pose a threat to her life.<p>

The doctor entered the room along with Audrey. She gave a small smile at Mustang. Apparently, when she heard that Riza had been readmitted for observation she had asked that Dr. Hahn if she could assist him in order to check up on Riza.

Dr. Hahn was far younger then Dr. Braun but he seemed to have a good head on his shoulders.

"Well General, we ran some blood tests and we found that the cause of her exhaustion stems from a large amount of a drug called Dilexinal."

Roy tensed up upon hearing this. "What sort of drug is it?"  
>"It's a sleep aid. I'm sure that you are well aware that when the previous Fuhrer, King Bradley was around the main focus of this country was wars. Naturally the medical problems faced in this country took a back seat and so the laws were much more flexible when it came to getting prescription drugs on the market."<p>

He rubbed his fingers together "Money changed hands. When the new laws were passed Dilexinal was one of the first drugs to be removed from pharmacy shelves. Where she got a hold of a bottle is a mystery to me."

Roy scoffed in disgust "The bastard who did this to her is a pharmacist. I know I saw it in a file."

Shortly after Riza had collapsed and the ambulance was called, a frantic Sheska had come running outside with a file on William Canter because Margot's parents were suspicious that he might have been the one responsible for their daughter's disappearance.

"Oh, that would explain it."

"Doctor, why was the drug taken off of the market in the first place?" questioned Rebecca

"Well for most the chronic use of the drug produced near catatonic reactions. Those who only used it once or twice still reported feeling the effects even after they had stopped taking the pill. Symptoms included extreme fatigue, memory loss; nausea, loss of appetite, hallucinations, and freakishly vivid dream."

"Wait a minute; are you suggesting that she may be stuck like this?"

Dr. Hahn saw how flustered Roy was becoming and he responded rather happily; which irked Roy all the more. Though in truth, he really was only trying to put Mustang at ease.

"Your Colonel is very stubborn. As I've said most people who took the drug continuously almost died. The dosage which they took was 50 mg; the dosage that she was receiving since she left the hospital the first time around was twice that. And you say that you found her walking here all the way from this home on the outskirts of the city?"

Roy nodded.

"Then it's my diagnosis that she'll be just fine after she gets some rest." He was about to leave the room when he paused and turned back to Roy with curiosity. "Was she ever able remembering anything?"

"A few things, why?"

"Did you try and take her some place familiar?"

Roy thought back to the day when he had taken her down into the basement of the third lab. How it was that, while she didn't understand it all, she suddenly came to the conclusion that she was not Margot Canter and that she'd been living in the wrong life.

"Yes…"

"Was it a place that she would associate positive feelings with?"

At this point both Rebecca and Roy wondered what exactly this doctor was getting at with all these roundabout questions.

"No, far from it."

"Well it's just that I've seen amnesia cases before and what usually ends up bringing their memories back is when there loved ones—or in this case their superiors-either take them someplace that they associate with happy feelings or they show them some something that held a lot of value to them." He had planted an idea in Mustangs mind and then left.

Audrey stayed behind and she watched as Roy produced from his pocket a pair of earrings. He placed them on the table by Riza's bedside. A foolish thought passed through his mind.

Audrey wondered why it was he had done it but she did not ask as to what significance these earrings held.

"I have to go now. Please keep an eye on her." he said to Rebecca

"Why are you going? Wasn't the Investigations Department already called?"  
>He sighed heavily "Yes but it will be a while before they get to the house to arrest him. In the mean time there is a little girl there and the last thing I need is another Shou Tucker on my hands."<p>

Rebecca understood. As Roy was about to walk out the door she called to him and said "Do me a favor and kick his ass."

* * *

><p>Sometime later, Riza opened up her eyes. Her head was spinning and she felt over the bruise on her head. She had hit the sidewalk and now she was staring out into a white room, again. She wondered what mysterious faces she'd be greeted with this time around.<p>

"Audrey?" she groaned slightly for when she tried to lift her head, she found that she could not.

Audrey approached her bedside "Colonel Hawkeye, please try to take it easy for a while. General Mustang and your friend, Rebecca found you when you collapsed."

"Rebecca?"

Yet another unfamiliar name. Rebecca appeared on the other side of her bed.

"Hey Riza, how are you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by a bus."

She looked over to the bedside table and her eyes spotted the studs. "Those earrings...they look familiar..." she murmured

"They should. Their yours. You wear them everyday."

With weakened movements Riza stretched out her arm and grabbed hold of the earrings. Her movement was far from coordinated and she felt as though her body did not belong to her. Still she managed to pick them up and hold on to them.

"There was a boy and he made these for me by using alchemy..." She seemed to be talking more to herself then to either Rebecca or Audrey. She removed the back of one of the earrings and very carefully she placed the earring inside the hole in her earlobe. She then did the same with the other.

It was then that an intense rush of emotions hit her all at once. Riza could remember now that they boy who gave her these earrings was Mustang. He was 12 years old and he transmuted them for her. She had been wearing them everyday since.

Riza had gotten her memories back.

She began to cry tears of joy; despite her best efforts to stifle them.

"Riza are you ok?" asked Rebecca

"I'm fine Rebecca." She was smiling

"It's a good thing that the General isn't here to see this." She said as she thought back to the last time Mustang had caught her crying over him. He never let her live it down.

* * *

><p>When Mustang arrived at the Canter home, it was pitch black. Not a single light was showing through the windows.<p>

He went to knock on the door but it was already open. William was expecting him...

* * *

><p><strong>EN: Ok fine so maybe getting her memories back by putting on her earrings was a bit...cheesy but I kept mentioning them because of the importance that they would hold in the plot so you can't really say you didn't see this one coming. <strong>

**Join** **us next time when we continue with Roy vs William in the final confrontation! **


	10. X

She began to rise-slowly-but steadily. Intense and unyielding pain seeped up from all sides. It gnarled at her stomach and it sent hammering fists to descend upon her head. Riza was being washed over in this sickening agony. All she had to be grateful for now was that she was away from William, she knew who she was, and most importantly, she knew exactly what she had to do.

Riza removed herself from the blanket and she let her feet drop to the cold ceramic floor. She felt as though standing would only lead to her to tumble over but she also knew that lying in bed would do nothing for her or Roy or Hannah.

"Riza, what are you doing? You need to stay in bed."

Riza looked at her friend, droplets of sweat collected near her forehead. The drug was taking its toll on her body.

"If I'm not there the General will end up doing something reckless."

What Riza meant was that Roy would undoubtedly lash out at William and in a fit of rage he would kill him. Hannah was in the house and it was sure to end in a complete disaster. Rebecca understood this and yet she continued to insist that her friend remain in bed.

Still Riza remained defiant and as stubborn as always.

"Rebecca, I'm leaving whether you help me or not."

Rebecca sighed with irritation. There was no arguing with her. The moment someone tried to get her to do what was best for her, was the moment that Riza wouldn't become painfully stubborn and do what wanted. Rebecca had no choice but to along with her friend's desire.

* * *

><p>When Mustang arrived at the Canter home, it was pitch black. Not a single light was showing through the windows.<p>

He went to knock on the door but it was already open. William was expecting him.

Roy was prepared for anything. He adjusted his ignition gloves as he entered the house. He turned on the lights in the living room as he looked about cautiously. Where was that bastard?

"We're in here, General." Called an all too calm voice from the dinning room.

Mustang followed the voice into the dinning room; his guard still up.

As he entered he saw William, sitting in a chair, wearing a blank expression. In front of him stood a bruised and battered Hannah. William's hand was rested heavily upon her trembling shoulders. This sight before him only caused Roy's anger to escalate. It seemed that William was expecting that. First he had almost killed his Captain and then he beat a defenseless child; it seemed that Shou Tucker had a competitor when it came to depravity.

"Let Hannah go." Roy ordered.

"Where is Riza?" he asked genuinely unaware.

"In the hospital; thanks' to you."

He smirked and then shook his head with judgment "All she had to do was stay at home and behave as a proper wife. We would have everything we wanted. Hannah would have a mother, I would have a wife, and your Captain would have had a family."

"You're the reason why you no longer have a wife. You were the one who murdered her."

William sighed with longing "Ah! Margot. That was not murder that was an accident. I really did love her and for a time she loved me. Then Fuhrer Bradley died and then Fuhrer Grumman stepped forward and he changed the drug laws in this country. It then became more lucrative for pharmacists to sell drugs that were no longer available to the general public."

Mustang was quickly catching on as to what had happened "Like Dilexinal?"

"Yes, Exactly. When Margot found out she started making threats to leave me." He scoffed before continuing "As if she could live without me to support her. She was always so weak. She went upstairs telling she was going to go pack. We argued and I pushed her… a little. She tumbled down and snapped her neck. A complete accident."

Mustang gazed down at the frightened child. "And now your daughter knows…"

"No, apparently this brat has known from the beginning. It would have been helpful if she'd assisted me with Margot's body. Have you ever tried to bury someone by yourself? It's quite a work out."

William's muscles stiffened as he remembered having to drag his wife's body out to the backyard and how no matter how many times he stuck his shovel into the earth, it was never deep enough.

Mustang struggled to keep his cool; his fists were clenched and he was ready to snap his fingers at any given moment.

"Then one day, by sheer luck, I found Riza. At first I thought I was seeing things; she looked so much like Margot. I thought it was a sign. The possibility was in front of me, so I took it. I began following her, learning her schedule, and when I found that she had no true connections to family or friends, I stuck her down."

Roy had to hold on; he had to wait for back up to arrive. William would be arrested, tried and sentenced, and then he would rot in prison for the rest of his life. That's the way it had to be. He mustn't burn him; he mustn't kill him.

Oh! But it was so tempting...

"There's one thing I don't understand..." Began Mustang "How did you know that Hawkeye would lose her memories?"

"I didn't. Call me impulsive if you'd like my I've always been a risk taker. Don't act so high and mighty, General. You've done horrible things to Riza, yourself."

"What do you mean?" He had a feeling that he already knew the answer.

"You were the one who burnt her back by using the same Alchemy that was tattooed onto her back. I don't know much of Alchemy but even I can recognize a transmutation circle when I see one. You have that same circle on your gloves. Tell me, who was it that first defaced that gorgeous skin of hers?"

He wanted to kill that man; his hands were trembling with suppressed rage. William smiled.

"Which makes you angrier? Knowing that I saw her tattoo or knowing that I saw your beautiful Colonel shirtless?"

That was it!

Roy raised his hands into a praying position and said "I don't know if you are aware of what Alchemy's greatest taboo is but I have committed such a taboo and I have scene the truth. It's enhanced my Flame Alchemy, so you should feel honored to die by it!"

Mustang was capable of doing pinpoint aiming and was therefore certain that he could perform such a feat without hurting Hannah but just as he about to snap his fingers, a bullet went whizzing by him.

It struck William in the kneecap and as it hit, he released Hannah from his grasp. Roy turned around, already aware as to who it was, yet surprised just the same.

Behind him he saw Riza, still wearing Margot's clothing and wielding a gun that was not her own. It was undoubtedly Rebecca's. Her balance was still of and she had to prop herself up against the wall. It was obvious that she was still in a great deal of pain.

"Sir, the backup has arrived."

"Colonel...what are you doing here?" Even now in this state she was still guarding him. To Hell and back.

Hannah saw Riza and ran towards her with outstretched arms, "You came back! You really came back!"

She latched on tightly to Riza. Riza rubbed her back affectionately and she smiled at Roy; silently saying that she was glad to be back.

When Roy saw that Riza had her earrings on, it all clicked together in his mind and a cocky grin was planted on his face.

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue…<strong>

William was arrested, tried, and sentenced to 25 years in Central Prison for manslaughter, kidnapping, endangering the welfare of a child, and for illegally selling prescription medication.

Margot Canter's body was later found under an oak tree in the backyard. It was dug up and then properly buried in a cemetery.

Her parents were very upset to find that their daughter was gone but they would be given custody of their granddaughter, Hannah. Because Hannah had grown so attached to Riza, they have agreed to visit each other when they can.

As for Riza, she was begrudgingly forced to return to the hospital where she stayed for the next week and half, eager to return to work. When she did return she was absolutely floored to find that all the paperwork had been done and that the office had been kept up to date.

And Roy? He was just grateful to have his wonderful Colonel back at work, doing his paperwork. Everything was as it should be.

THE END.


	11. Author's Note And Appology

**Author's Note: (Read Before Reviewing)**

**I'm sorry for neglecting my stories on here. I'd give you the details but I highly doubt that you really want me to. **

**Ok I'll admit now. This was probably not the ending that you were looking for. I tried though, I really tried. This story was based on a dream I had and in the dream the ending was God awful so I had to change it for the story. Before you say anything about how bad my ending was I want you to know this; in my dream William raped Riza and then Mustang found out and he was so pissed off that he burned William's house down with him inside but Hannah was also inside. Roy knew this but didn't really think about it because he was so angry and then Riza was horrified that he killed Hannah so she stopped speaking to him.**

**I do hope that as a whole you enjoyed this story. I realize I need to work on my writing skills but it's not like that stuff is taught in school so I've had to learn through trial and error. Hopefully as I get older my stories will get progressively better. I do think I have come along way, since I wrote my first creative story in 6th grade. **

**I will continue to write both fanfics and stories with my own characters and plotlines (which I do write, I just very rarely show those to anyone)**

**I am very proud to say though that throughout this entire story I did not so much as mention Hughes, which is extremely difficult for me.**

**Thank you all very much!**

**Bluehxxx, Thieving Alchemist, Skyethestarlitangel, YesMyLord666, PokemonFreak90, AnimeRomantic4Ever, Cerisabeth, Woot, LAZYFMAFAN, haeye, Riza Hawkeye Fan, Knight of Balinor, Happy, ChocoChip101, DeathKiki, , JayEyeWolf, Reader, Darkrukia4, queenJx, isa-chan131297, Akamaruwolf323, what-is-the-color-of-love, Nutella Alchemist**

**(Shameless Self Promotion)**

**My new stories that I am currently working on are called **_Anonymous _and _The Price Of Life_

**Anonymous:**_  
><em>Someone at Headquarters has a crush on Hawkeye and at first no one thinks anything of it but when innocent letters and awkward glances turn into violence, it'll be up to Hawkeye to not only protect herself but Roy as well. Royai

**The Price Of Life: **He was no longer Maes Hughes; he didn't know who he was. He had been given this opportunity and he would not waste it. In an ideal world it would work out perfectly but this is not such a world. This is reality and it is cold, dark and bitter.

"_Talk about our future_

_Like we had a clue_

_Never planned that one day_

_I'd be losing you_

_In another life_

_I would be your girl_

_We'd keep all our promises_

_Be us against the world_

_In another life_

_I would make you stay_

_So I don't have to say_

_You were the one that got away_

_The one that got away" _

- 'The One That Got Away' by Katy Perry


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